Mary Smith, a supporter of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, joined dozens of other Brown supporters in a demonstration before the start of the second gubernatorial debate, held at California State University, Fresno, in Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010. Brown faced off against his Republican opponent Meg Whitman in the second of three debates.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
(Rich Pedroncelli - AP)

Ray Trujillo, a supporter of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, joined dozens of other Brown supporters in a demonstration before the start of the second gubernatorial debate, held at California State University, Fresno, in Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010. Brown faced off against his Republican opponent Meg Whitman in the second of three debates.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
(Rich Pedroncelli - AP)

Mary Smith, center, a supporter of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, joined dozens of others Brown supporters in a demonstration before the start of the second gubernatorial debate, held at California State University, Fresno, in Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010. Brown faced off against his Republican opponent Meg Whitman in the second of three debates.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
(Rich Pedroncelli - AP)

A supporter of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown, left, faces off against a supporter of Republican candidate Meg Whitman, in a demonstration before the start of the second gubernatorial debate, held at California State University, Fresno, in Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
(Rich Pedroncelli - AP)

Meg Whitman supporters hold signs outside of the debate hall at California State University in Fresno, Calif., where Whitman faced off against her Democratic opponent Jerry Brown, in the second of three debates held Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
(Rich Pedroncelli - AP)

FRESNO, Calif. -- GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman accused Democratic rival Jerry Brown on Saturday of orchestrating a scandal over her former illegal immigrant housekeeper, a charge that prompted Brown to fire back and say Whitman won't take responsibility and is not fit to be governor.

The issue dominated the candidates' second debate, held in one of the most economically distressed regions of the state, after a week that has upended Whitman's campaign.

"The real tragedy here is Nicky. After Nov. 2, no one's going to be watching out for Nicky Diaz," Whitman said, referring to the former housekeeper, and turning to face Brown directly shortly after the start of their second debate. "And Jerry, you know you should be ashamed, you and your surrogates ... put her deportation at risk. You put it out there and you should be ashamed for sacrificing Nicky Diaz on the altar of your political ambitions."

Brown responded by saying Whitman, the billionaire former chief executive of eBay, was trying to evade responsibility.

"Don't run for governor if you can't stand up on your own two feet and say, 'Hey I made a mistake,'" Brown said in a moment fraught with tension as the two candidates, neck-and-neck in the polls, turned away from the audience and faced each other directly. "You have blamed her, blamed me, blamed the left, blamed the unions. But you don't take accountability."

Whitman had hoped to use the debate at California State University, Fresno to court Latino voters. She has worked hard to win support among independents and Latinos, who are crucial to the campaign of any Republican running in a state in which Democrats hold a 13.4 percentage point edge among registered voters.

But she's been forced to explain how she had an illegal immigrant housekeeper - Nicky Diaz Santillan - on the payroll for nine years and, according to her, didn't know it.

Whitman also is addressing allegations from the housekeeper's attorney that she and her husband should have suspected the worker's status because of a Social Security Administration letter mailed to their home in 2003.

Gloria Allred, the housekeeper's attorney, is a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates. Whitman told reporters after the debate the controversy is a sideshow from the issues Californians want to focus on, such as jobs and education.

But immigration issues dominated the event, which was sponsored by Univision and was the first California gubernatorial debate to be broadcast in Spanish. The pressure erupted as the candidates took their fourth question, after the candidates faced questions about jobs, public education and the housing crisis.

"So, this is a very sad situation, and the Nicky that I saw on the press conference a few days ago was not the Nicky that I knew for nine years," Whitman said as she began to address the issue that has thrown her campaign off track. "And you know what my first clue was? She kept referring to me as Ms. Whitman. And for the 10 years, nine years she worked for me, she called me Meg and I called her Nicky."

After technical problems forced a delay, Brown and Whitman had several lengthy exchanges over high-profile immigration issues, including whether illegal immigrants already in the country should be able to seek citizenship; the DREAM Act that would let U.S. high school graduates who were brought into the country illegally as children become legal U.S. residents after spending two years in college or the military; and cracking down on employers who hire illegal workers.